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'Fidget' toys are all the rage. Some schools have had enough

It sort of helps me focus, Camden Lashua, 9, of Fitchburg said of his new fidget spinner. It s also, he added, really fun. (SUN / ASHLEY)

Fourth-grader Camden Lashua stood outside his Fitchburg home Thursday afternoon chatting and absently playing with his new "fidget spinner."

"It sort of helps me focus," he said. "It does help with stress."

It's also, he added, "really fun."

The palm-sized device, which can be spun with a flick of a finger, may be advertised as a way to improve concentration and reduce anxiety. But the low-tech spinners have also become the hot toy among elementary- and middle-school students.

However, not everyone agrees on the device's benefits, and schools in some districts are trying to keep the spinners out of the classroom.

"We've been confiscating and taking them unless they (have special allowance from the school)," said James Cardac, principal of Kathyrn Philbin Stoklosa Middle School in Lowell.

Nissitissit Middle School in Pepperell has a similar policy, calling the toys "highly distracting" in a blog post published Thursday.

At Johnny Appleseed Elementary School in Leominster, Assistant Principal Patricia King and other administrators are organizing a response to the device's sudden popularity, which King said she first learned about Wednesday.

"One of the teachers asked me what we should do about it and I told her, well, that looks like a toy to me," she said. "One of the kids said, 'No, this is a fidget'" -- that is, a device intended to help children focus.

Administrators are still developing a consistent schoolwide policy, she said.

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Michael LaCava, principal at Harrington Elementary School in Chelmsford, wrote parents last week the spinners "have become more of a distraction than a helpful tool for our students trying to focus in class. Most students are using them as 'toys,' especially the items that spin between their fingers." LaCava said parents may request their children be allowed to have the spinners in class.

At Westford's Crisafulli School, students may have the devices in class at the teacher's discretion, but may not bring them to lunch or recess.

Nine-year-old Camden Lashua, a Fitchburg fourth-grader, loves his new fidget spinner, and he s not alone. Schools in some districts are trying to keep the toys out of the classroom. (SUN / ASHLEY GREEN)

At Westminster Elementary School, Principal Patty Marquis said she plans to stop short of banning spinners, but has set guidelines.

"They're very clever and they're very fun, and I've seen them be the center of attention for kids as they play with them with their friends, but I definitely don't allow them during testing," Marquis said.

"I think the intent is to help a child stay focused, but it would definitely distract the other 28 students around them," she said.

Their rise in popularity during the past several weeks has coincided with the school's state testing schedule, which she said may be because parents believe the spinners will help their students concentrate on exams.

"My parents are very supportive," she said. "They want to help their kids."

Devices that offer a sensory outlet -- like TheraPutty, a Slinky or a therapy ball -- already have a place in many classrooms for children with ADD, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Roann Demanche, Fitchburg's director of special education, said students who need to use such devices in class are assessed by an occupational therapist. After the assessment, students may be authorized to use school-provided fidgets.

Fidget spinners are not among the options, she said.

"Right now it's considered kind of like a toy," she said.

But Laura Garofoli, Fitchburg State University professor of psychological science, said there's little evidence these fidgeting devices help children with ADHD.

"There's no research on the actual fidget spinners yet," she said. "Research on fidgets for kids on their desk at school is actually very spotty."

Garofoli said studies show physical activity helps children with ADHD concentrate, but most research focuses on the use of large muscle groups, not fine motor skills.

"Across the board, more physical activity leads to better outcomes for kids with ADHD in the class," she said. "The tricky part is does that have any correlation with the fine motor of the little fidgets at the desk? Stress balls, TheraPutty -- there just isn't a whole heck of a lot of data to support that they're effective."

Fidgets also may be distracting to other students in the classroom, particularly among other children with ADHD, she said.

Students engage in behaviors similar to the ones fidgets facilitate -- such as clicking a pen, doodling or bouncing their leg -- without a device.

"(For) individuals who struggle with attention or focus or have a bit of anxiety ... it's a self-imposed coping mechanism," she said.

But for for children with autism, some who engage in repetitive behaviors, fidgets may help reduce stress levels, Garofoli said.

Though more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of fidgets, she said, anecdotally, some believe they help.

Camden, a Crocker Elementary School student, said he uses his spinner in class when he feels distracted and it helps him pay attention.

Leominster resident Debbie Wheeler said she ordered her 12-year-old son a spinner online several weeks ago.

"He said it helps him focus and gets his mind off things," she said in a message to the Sentinel & Enterprise. "I personally don't understand it. But he does have learning disabilities, and they say it's helpful."

Whether they work is unclear, but there's no denying fidget spinners are a craze, Garofoli said, adding that her 7-year-old son made his own from Legos.

On Thursday, Leominster's Five Below was sold out, as was Walgreens in Fitchburg. The Lancaster skating rink Roll On America isn't the first place shoppers look for toys, but the rink's novelty store is also struggling to keep the spinners in stock since the store got its first shipment April 15, General Manager Jamie Cortes said.

"We put our first box that had 24 in it on the shelf on Saturday, our DJ made the announcement and we were sold out in like five hours," she said.

The box of glow-in-the-dark spinners was gone even faster.

"Those sold out in one glow skate," she said. "So like 10 minutes."

While she said many of the children and teens at the rink say they help with concentration, spinners are also a trend -- possibly bigger than emoji-themed products, which saw an upswing in popularity for a period of time.

"Now it has also moved into the cool thing," she said. "Who has the most, the different kinds you can have and all the different colors, glow in the dark, metallic."

Camden said in addition to simple spinning, users can also perform tricks and "battle" with the devices.

Though Cortes said demand for the spinners, which generally cost $1 to $20, has been huge in the last few weeks, it may also be brief.

"I do think it will slow down. I don't think it will be a long-lived fad. We'll see," she said. "While the kids want them and they're happy with them, we'll keep selling them."

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